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We moved to NC from out-of-state last year. We're renting a house that has a Matthews address so we thought we'd be living IN the town of Matthews.
We've heard tidbits of info here and there from neighbors ever since saying that we're technically located in Charlotte, within the town line (although even they appear to be confused). Our child goes to a Charlotte/Meck school - Piney Grove - but children who live in houses on the other side of Margaret Wallace go to school in Matthews, even though we all have Matthews addresses.
This has been very confusing and, to say the least, surprising. Where we're from, if you have an address in a particular town, you actually live in that town.
Can someone shed some light on this? Which town do we belong to?
We moved to NC from out-of-state last year. We're renting a house that has a Matthews address so we thought we'd be living IN the town of Matthews.
We've heard tidbits of info here and there from neighbors ever since saying that we're technically located in Charlotte, within the town line (although even they appear to be confused). Our child goes to a Charlotte/Meck school - Piney Grove - but children who live in houses on the other side of Margaret Wallace go to school in Matthews, even though we all have Matthews addresses.
This has been very confusing and, to say the least, surprising. Where we're from, if you have an address in a particular town, you actually live in that town.
Can someone shed some light on this? Which town do we belong to?
All kids in Mecklenburg county who go to public schools go to Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools.
Matthews is in Mecklenburg County.
Both Piney Grove and Matthews Elementary are in Mecklenburg County.
Tell me the name of your subdivision and I'll tell you if you are in Charlotte or Matthews, but either way, you live in Mecklenburg County
Thanks for your reply. I understand we live in Mecklenburg County. That's pretty much all I understand. What I meant to say was that she goes to school in the city of Charlotte.
Our development is Glenwood Manor, off Margaret Wallace.
Thanks for your reply. I understand we live in Mecklenburg County. That's pretty much all I understand. What I meant to say was that she goes to school in the city of Charlotte.
Our development is Glenwood Manor, off Margaret Wallace.
Glenwood Manor is in the city of Charlotte. You live in Charlotte
You are on the border with Matthews. Many places on the border of Matthews get their mail out of the Matthews post office, which is why your address says "Matthews".
FYI, it can get more complicated than that. There are areas in towns around Charlotte that have a Charlotte mailing address that are not in Charlotte. The post office can do what they want and that's one reason you won't find Census data mapped easily to zip codes, at least from the government. They know that even if they published it that way the USPS could change the city or zip.
Your tax municipality might be the best way to find out where you live for sure and you can check that at Real Estate Lookup
I used to serve as a precinct official in Union County and this was one of the most confusing things for newcomers. Think of it this way...your mailing address only indicates your "postal" address. Whichever post office serves your address (zip code) will indicate your mailing address. Your mailing address does not indicate in which town you reside.
Your municipal address (where you pay your city or county taxes) really has nothing to do with where your children attend school or where you get your mail. With so much growth in the area, many towns have very irregular borders. You can usually look up your address in your county GIS system. It is not unusually for subdivisions to be in unincorporated areas...so that you don't pay taxes to any city/town. You would be governed only by the county (county commisioners).
Your school district is an altogether different animal. Most local schools are county run, but divided into districts. There will be elementary schools that "feed" into a main middle and high.
I'm glad that you have determined that your postal zip is in Matthews, but your municipal address is Charlotte, and your children attend Charlotte-Meck County Schools in...which district?
Thanks everyone. This has been really informative. Where we hail from, blurry borders like this are pretty unusual.
We're happy to belong to the city of Charlotte (which we've come to love thus far), but it's nice to know for sure what's what. We were beginning to feel like we didn't really belong to either for a while there...
Thanks everyone. This has been really informative. Where we hail from, blurry borders like this are pretty unusual.
We're happy to belong to the city of Charlotte (which we've come to love thus far), but it's nice to know for sure what's what. We were beginning to feel like we didn't really belong to either for a while there...
In many places a mailing address is not the same as a physical address. It's a post office issue, that's all.
You = mailing address, Matthews, house address, Charlotte
If you think that is odd, Bridgehampton subdivision in S. Charlotte is split b/w South Carolina and North Carolina. So literally your neighbor right across the street could live in a different state, go to different schools, vote for completely different people.
If you think that is odd, Bridgehampton subdivision in S. Charlotte is split b/w South Carolina and North Carolina. So literally your neighbor right across the street could live in a different state, go to different schools, vote for completely different people.
HA! Just like Parmount's Carowinds with the state line running right thru the middle of the park
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